Stuart Varney and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett (via Fox News)
On Wednesday, amid reports that inflation is rising with increasing speed, one of President Donald Trump’s top officials was left squirming as a Fox News host held his feet to the fire about the state of the economy. In the end, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett was forced to admit that the situation is “disappointing.”
“The market doesn't like this,” said longtime Fox financial analyst Stuart Varney. “Interest rates are rising. It's the last report heading into the midterms, and it's not real great on inflation, is it?” As the New York Times explains, “The Consumer Price Index rose 3.7 percent in September from a year earlier, faster than a month earlier, as gas prices surged 34 percent.” At the same time, interest rates have been pushed up due to inflation and the fast-mounting national debt, both of which were accelerated by Trump’s decision to launch war with Iran, while the debt also jumped higher due to tax cuts passed by Republicans last year. As the prices of gas and diesel have climbed, so have the costs of everything else.
“You're absolutely right,” admitted Hassett, before attempting to shift the blame. “What happened was that because the Houthis started attacking the Saudi pipeline, and other Iranian proxies from Iraq were attacking refineries and so on, that we had a negative shock to energy again in September. Much of it has abated as we look at what the data look like now, but for sure there was a top-line number that was disappointing.”
But Varney continued to press on the fact that inflation has “ticked up. Does the tick up keep going? I mean, because you're not going to get away from 7 percent mortgages in the future. That's another negative.” As Varney suggested, rising interest rates also mean rising mortgages, which come at a time when Americans rate housing affordability among their foremost concerns. Hassett, however, tried to handwave such concerns, claiming, “Income grows a lot so people can afford higher mortgages,” though he did admit, “The bottom line is that you're correct that this was a disappointing number.”
According to the New York Times, “The inflation report comes 20 days before the midterm elections and after a series of economic indicators that have shown job growth slowing, mortgage rates rising and unemployment climbing. For consumers, those metrics reinforce what many have been feeling for months: Prices are simply too high, and the economy is leaving them behind.” What’s more, Americans have struggled as several vital sectors have outpaced the average inflation. For example, fuel oil has skyrocketed by 74.2 percent, electricity by 4.4 percent, produce by 3.7 percent, hospital services by 5.6 percent, and airline fares by 22.4 percent.
Hassett went on to throw out a few positive economic figures, claiming, “All of that is inconsistent with the polls that say, oh, the economy is, like, the worst since the Great Depression.” This prompted Varney to ask, “So why is it that voters have a somewhat negative view on the economy?” Hassett seemed mystified, saying, “You know, it's a puzzle that we're noodling about every day ourselves.”